The Hornbrook Prophecy

Robert Wickes
ISBN 9781591463429
Crystal Dreams Publishing (2010)
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (3/10)

 

In this fictional account of “The Hornbrook Paradox,” on January 2010, the United States is faced with an economic crisis.  President Winston Dillard is working to push a bill through Congress that threatens to impact grassroots Americans, increasing their taxes and reducing their benefits. Senator Henley Hornbrook diligently seeks to thwart the passing of this legislation, however, the bill in enacted into law. 

A nationwide taxpayer revolt puts the government on the brink of bankruptcy. The resultant chaos causes a desperate, but power hungry, president to declare a state of emergency which suspended upcoming elections, barred Congress from meeting.  He then embarks on a television attack against Senator Hornbrook, blaming him for the national crisis.  He uses an unprecedented action on the part of an American president as he orders a state of martial law, calling on the Army to replace state and city police in the larger population centers.

Major Eagle McCall, a special aide to Senator Hornbrook, warns his brother-in-law, Tom Warner of the imminent riots and rebellion and ominous danger about to hit urban America.  Tom and his family leave Los Angeles to drive to safety in a less-populated area in Washington State.  They take refuge in McCall’s home in the country foothills.

During their 1300 mile trip from Los Angeles to McCall’s home in Washington State, the Warner family face: gas shortages, carjackers, roadblocks, armed renegades, and gunshot wounds.

The previously quiet rural valley is suddenly shattered when an armed mob of militant activists, seeking vengeance against Henley Hornbrook, their state’s senator, attack the mountain community. A unique strategy is devised to meet the attack.  The fast-paced action leading to the conclusion and surprise ending, kept me turning pages late into the night.

Robert Wicks gives the reader an entertaining and informative glimpse into a political system’s inner working. His characters are composites and caricatures that represent the radical in areas of politics and geographical regional customs.  He has developed characters that reflect the extreme of idealism and those who are manipulators with a lust for more power. Much of the storyline is improbable, but definitely possible.  Interwoven in the plot, Wicks uses dialog and oratory to acquaint the reader with the danger of constitutional rights being violated and taken from United States citizens. I personally enjoyed the quotations at the beginning of each chapter from well-known American leaders, both historical and contemporary. 

This is a book for readers who want to see reform in government and a return to the original intent of the constitution of the founding fathers of our country. The novel lends itself to an exchange of ideas in discussion groups, or in the classroom.

In “The Hornbrook Paradox,” Wicks shows great promise of becoming a best-selling author in the area of political intrigue and adventure novels.

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